Day After Veteran's Day

Never work in a public library the day after a holiday.
People are crazier than normal. One day of being closed completely throws off the weekly rhythm of our patrons. It's like they've been deprived of a drug, and now their craving (for information and time on Facebook) is ravenous and they are more irrational.

So when the power goes off for a half second in the building, causing all the computers to reboot, it's not a minor bump in the road. It's a reason for someone to complain, "My computer's not loading worth shit," and soon others chime in, "Mine's not working, either."
I wanted to say to all of them: "There is not a fucking magic button that immediately makes all the computers run at full speed. If I knew about this button, I would be either ridiculously rich or I would at least hold a position where I didn't have to talk to you. The only thing I can suggest is patience, a virtue that does not seem to be in your possession."
Instead I said, "Try logging off and on your computers one more time, and hopefully it will work. That is all I can tell you right now, and I might need to call tech services."
Deal with it, people. Try living in another country, where events transpire much slower. Look what instant gratification has gotten you thus far: an unplanned pregnancy.
Okay, my last comment went too far. But dealing with angry people who only think about themselves gets a little tiresome. Most of the time, this frustration can be suppressed and I can shrug it off. Today was different.

One of the reasons our patrons were irritable is because the library recently shifted to a new computer reservation system. When we first unveiled it, people were eager to try it out and encouraged that they could book a computer station hours ahead of time. However, there is a percentage of people who fear change. They are comfortable with writing their name on a waiting list, and they are not interested in learning a new technology. They seem to think that the new system is a waste of time, conveniently forgetting about all the time they've waited for computer stations in the past. Many library systems use this method (Seattle Public and King County's users have been reserving computers this way for years), so Pierce County is just catching up with the cool kids. It's that awkward phase where we have to convince people it can be more convenient for them. I acknowledge it's not an easy transition for everyone, but it is more efficient (less work for us and them monitoring the list on paper) and prevents mix-ups about who is first, second, third, etc. in line to use a computer.
Sometimes it pains me to confront people who are so resistant to change. Because if they are furious about a simple procedural change (one woman commented: "Now I remember why I don't come to the library"), how can we even start to fix broader problems like health care and education?
And the answer is unfortunately: We ignore these cantankerous people and we force the changes on them.
Oh God, my rant got political. And I realize that I am fully in favor of totalitarianism.

Alright, let's end with a funny story (and then I'll get back to writing my novel):
A woman came up to me the other day at the information desk and asked me for books about names. I showed her a few items, thinking that maybe she was trying to find the perfect name for her baby. Then she whispered to me, "Do you have any books about identity change?" She was talking so quietly that I almost couldn't hear her. As if someone would overhear our conversation and immediately reveal her true identity and her past would come crashing down on her. She was wearing a straw hat with a wide brim, that no doubt kept others from noticing her.
What was this woman's story? Was she on the lam after fleeing a crime scene, a crazed husband, or a failed embezzlement scheme? Something about a woman on the run turning to the public library for a fresh start is humorous to me. Maybe one way for libraries to evolve in the twenty-first century is to provide a certain degree of "protection" for patrons. Either that, or offer private investigation services.